JACKSON, Tenn. — ‘Tis the season to be generous, a popular project of The Samaritan’s Purse returns to bring hope.

Operation Christmas Child is gearing up to collect shoebox gifts during National Collection Week, November 18-25. The program provides shoebox gifts filled with fun toys, school supplies and personal care items to children in need around the world to demonstrate God’s love in a tangible way.

A translator for Operation Christmas Child shared his story of receiving a shoebox during a difficult time in his life when he was 6 years old.

“He opened his shoebox and there was a picture of a family and he said ‘Somebody loves me.’ And there was a matchbox car there, that’s a cool thing to put in them too. He’s 35 years old and he’s still carrying this in his pocket,” said Debbie Newell, the central team leader for Operation Christmas Child.

Now he has a family of his own. For information on local drop-off locations, click Here.

For more local news, click Here.